Most reliable cars of 2020: the ADAC ranking
Most reliable cars of 2020
One of the aspects to keep in mind when deciding to buy a new car is - in addition to aesthetic beauty, equipment and type of engine - reliability. Fortunately, thanks to many associations that collect and analyze some data, it is possible to have rankings regarding the most reliable cars of the various car manufacturers. Therefore, according to data collected by the German car club ADAC - which are based on calls received in the last few years from customers who needed roadside assistance - some very important aspects emerged. In the first place, there was a significant drop in the calls themselves compared to 2019, evidently due to the restrictions of COVID-19. In fact, in 2020 there were 3.4 million roadside assistance calls, while in 2019 3.8 million were registered. Obviously, it also emerged which vehicles had the greatest need to request roadside assistance, thus turning out to be the least reliable cars.The study in question analyzed 109 car models belonging to 25 different car manufacturers that were registered between the years 2011 and 2018 and that recorded no less than 10,000 units sold. It was therefore highlighted that 40 models encountered minor problems and that a decidedly negative outcome was found on 16 models. In addition, about 50% of the vehicles are among those with "average reliability". Going more specifically, according to what was analyzed by ADAC, the most reliable car models seem to be those of the brands Audi (A3, A4, A5, Q3 and Q5), BMW (Series 1, 2, 3, 4, X1, X3 ) and MINI. Not bad also Mercedes (with A-Class, CLA, GLA, C-Class, GLC and GLK). It must be said, however, that these brands provide their customers with a different assistance service. For this reason, the data analyzed by the German club could - from this point of view - not be entirely "truthful". In any case, the data that refer to the Fiat Punto also seem to be positive since some not exactly recent vehicles have obtained results that do not differ much from the premium models of some companies such as Audi and MINI. on the other hand, it concerns the car models that were among the least reliable, including the Smart ForFour and the Smart ForTwo. According to what emerged, the two models in question encountered important problems. In particular, it was necessary to provide assistance to vehicles that were registered between 2015 and 2016. Hyundai i20 and Opel Meriva also positioned themselves at the bottom of the ranking. Specifically, the vehicles of the Hyundai brand highlighted about 42-43 problems per 1,000 units. On the other hand, as regards the vehicles of the Opel house, the roadside assistance calls were also made by owners of more recent cars, registered between the years 2016 and 2017. However, according to the study carried out, the less reliable car model seems belong to the South Korean car manufacturer Kia. In fact, the car with the most problems apparently was - in 2020 - the Kia Ceed, recording more than 52 problems on vehicles registered in 2011. Despite the negative data, both the car manufacturer Kia and Hyundai have achieved important improvements. from the point of view of reliability thus showing not much difference compared to the other models that have been subjected to the study.
Consumer Reports’ Most Reliable Brands in 2020: Mazda Leads, Ford Falls
Yesterday, Consumer Reports magazine presented its list of manufacturers with the most reliable and least reliable vehicle lineups in the industry. To the surprise of many, accustomed no doubt to seeing the names Toyota and Lexus show up at the top of the annual Auto Reliability Survey, Mazda has taken top honours in 2020.
This is quite a big, colourful feather in the Japanese automaker’s cap.
According to Consumer Reports, one of the reasons Mazda was able to take top spot was thanks to its powertrains, which use solid and durable 6-speed automatic transmissions instead of continuously variable transmissions, which are generally more fragile. Mazda also didn't rely on overly sophisticated multimedia systems. Rather, it has ignored industry trends by proposing systems that discourage the use of touchscreen functions while driving. Rather, the controls are operated using thumbwheels on the centre console, and this can largely be done without taking one’s eyes off the road.
See also: Porsche Named Top Car Brand in Consumer Reports 2020 Study
The Mazda model with the best reliability record was the MX-5 with a score of 98 out of 100, followed by the new CX-30, CX-3 and CX-5. In all cases, models received scores of 85 points or higher.
Overall, Toyota and Lexus still ranked well above average, taking second and third place respectively; Mazda's arrival at the top of the heap ended a six-year domination by those brands. Lexus was affected by problems with the new LS, though Consumer Reports didn’t specify the nature of those problems.
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The climbersBuick was the most improved brand, gaining 14 spots to place 4th. The American premium brand can thank it Encore for that, the SUV having earned a score of 91 points. Honda moved up 7 spots to complete the top 5, a nice reversal for the company that’s had a few setbacks in recent years. The automaker did get penalized by the by poor results earned by its Passport and Odyssey models (between 30 and 40 points each).
Among European brands, Porsche did best with a 9th place. BMW moved up 5 rungs to 12th place, while Audi maintained its midfield position in 14th. And Mercedes-Benz? 20th.
The fallersAs usual, we can’t help but take a gander at the other end of the list. The bottom feeders this year are Ford, Mini, Volkswagen, Tesla and Lincoln. In the latter case, Ford's luxury division actually dropped 11 places this year to sit dead last. To be fair, the end of production of the Continental and MKZ sedans, two models that generally performed well on the reliability test, hurt it. At Ford, the Explorer struggled to score many points at all. The problems that have dogged the latest edition after its launch, which ranged from the engines to the body, electrical equipment, electronics and transmission, made for a woeful performance on Consumer Reports’ appraisal system. Ford assures us all the issues have been resolved. If that's the case, things should right themselves for the automaker in next year’s ranking.
At Tesla, meanwhile, the new Model Y dragged the electric carmaker down to second-to-last place among brands. Owners of Model Y, which went into production in January, reported problems with misaligned body panels that needed to be repaired and mismatched paint, including, in one case, human hair caught in the paint, according to Consumer Reports. The Model Y finished with a reliability rating of 'much worse than average'.
Consumer Reports' rankings are established annually based on a survey of 300,000 consumer-owned vehicles. The results are tabulated based on the number of complaints received; the lower the number of complaints, the higher the score.
It should be noted that the more vehicles a manufacturer has, the more stable its ranking is likely to be, as its entire lineup (averaged out) is used to establish its score. If a firm offers only two or three models, it can move up the ranking quickly if they do well, but it can quickly fall to the bottom end of the ranking if their vehicles generate complaints.
As for Mazda, it's the crowning achievement of years of work, as we've gradually seen the reliability bonafides of several of the firm's models grow in recent years. The 2020 result is a consecration of the company’s efforts. Now, the hard part will be to maintain its position at the top.
2020 Mazda Mazda3 Sport GT
Here is the full Consumer Reports ranking.
1 – Mazda 832 – Toyota 743 – Lexus 714 – Buick 705 – Honda 636 – Hyundai 627 – Ram 588 – Subaru 579 – Porsche 5510 – Dodge 5411 – Infiniti 5412 – BMW 5213 – Nissan 5114 – Audi 4615 – Kia 4516 – GMC 4317 – Chevrolet 4218 – Volvo 4119 – Jeep 4120 – Mercedes-Benz 4021 – Cadillac 3822 – Ford 3823- Mini 3724 – Volkswagen 3625 – Tesla 2926 – Lincoln 8
